Social Value UK

Tag: Sustainable future

  • Leaders in sustainable development join Social Value UK

    Leaders in sustainable development join Social Value UK

    Professor Erik Bichard and Phil Higham have joined Social Value UK/Social Value International as organisational members following the launch of their company RealWorth. The company primarily values the social and environmental change of built environment projects, programmes and investments. They have wide set client groups ranging from developers and investors in property, through to membership bodies and local authorities, social landlords and place-making social enterprises. Their approach is based on the use of multiple social, material and ecological valuation methods, and is underpinned by the pair’s long association with the development and construction community.

    Erik is based in Liverpool and developed the methods employed by RealWorth while working as a Professor of Regeneration and Sustainable Development. As an individual member he was invited onto the Social Value UK Council and also serves on the Social Value International Methodology Sub-Committee. He is a former executive director of the UK National Centre for Business and Sustainability and a Trustee of the social enterprise the FRC Group. Erik said: “while conventional methods of valuation used by built environment professionals mainly focus on the market-based and the physical, RealWorth puts a value on the social and environmental changes experienced by people who are the most affected by development decisions”.

    Phil, a Manchester-based chartered surveyor, has had a full and varied career in international development and leadership roles at companies including Laing O’Rourke and Rider Levett Bucknall. Phil said “we have always thought that society in general, and the built environment industry in particular, fails to value the importance of social and environmental factors when making decisions that affect people’s lives. Our business has been created to redress this shortfall.”

    The company has secured a contract with an innovative social enterprise in Pittsburgh that empowers local people to improve the environmental conditions of their underinvested neighbourhoods and is in the final stages of negotiations to be appointed a key advisor to one of the largest mixed use development schemes in the north of England.

    News of RealWorth’s innovative approach has also spread to Malmo and Vienna where Professor Bichard has spoken of the need to value things differently to avoid further division in society.

    For more information see the RealWorth website.

    RealWorth will also be taking a lead on the Social Value UK ‘Social Value in the Built Environment’ working group, which will launch in the new year. We are very excited about this, for more information or to request to join,  visit our Working Groups list.

     

    Press Contacts

    Real Worth

    E: askus@realworth.org      T: +44 (0)20 7193 7235

    Christina Berry-Moorcroft, Membership and Communications Coordinator, Social Value UK

    E: christina.moorcroft@sv-test.wp-support.team                       T: 0151 703 9229

    About RealWorth

    RealWorth is a consultancy that represents a unique blend of skills combining academic and commercial expertise to help our clients to create better and more sustainable outcomes for their organisations and wider society.

    About Social Value UK

    Social Value UK is the national network for anyone interested in social value and social impact. We work with our members to increase the accounting, measuring and maximising of social value from the perspective of those affected by an organisation’s activities, through our Social Value Principles. We believe in a world where a broader definition of value will change decision making and ultimately decrease inequality and environmental degradation. To achieve our mission, Social Value UK provides training and assurance services, as well as hosting regular meetings and events, creating new tools and resources, and running campaigns. Through supporting and working with our members, and as a National Member Network of Social Value International, we are creating an international movement for change.

  • CEOs of leading accounting bodies call upon world leaders to act now to achieve low carbon future

    CEOs of leading accounting bodies call upon world leaders to act now to achieve low carbon future

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    The global accountancy profession has urged world leaders to demonstrate determination and political will in order to achieve a low carbon, sustainable future, ahead of the COP 21 Climate Change meeting in Paris.

    In an open letter to world leaders chief executives of the accounting bodies representing one million accountants worldwide, asked governments to:

    1.    Commit to an agreement in Paris that provides a clear signal that governments will act to achieve a low carbon, sustainable future.

    2.    Put in place a framework that sets out necessary government actions, reduces uncertainty and enables investors, businesses and others to make informed decisions that are consistent with this aim.

    The accountancy bodies, all members of the A4S Accounting Bodies Network (ABN), commit to a set of principles that support action by the accounting community to address climate change.  In particular, through these principles we commit to:

    • Equip accountants with the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to support their organisation’s response to climate change by incorporating into training and professional education, driving thought leadership, and working with others to accelerate learning and progress
    • Influence and inform our membership to understand the implications of climate change, and how approaches such as the adoption of integrated reporting can support an effective response

    Richard Spencer, co-chair of the Accounting Bodies Network working group said, “COP21 offers a rare moment when the global community has an opportunity to commit to actions that will protect our economy, environment and society. The accountancy profession plays an important role in helping organisations respond to climate change risks and impacts to create resilient businesses.  We urge world leaders to seize the moment with bold, ambitious and thoughtful commitments that will facilitate the actions by the private and public sector to deliver a sustainable future.”

    Commenting on the publication of the letter Anne Adrain, co-chair of the Accounting Bodies Network working group said, “It is widely acknowledged that climate change will lead to significant impacts on businesses and that a clear policy environment is needed to aid them to plan effectively and build business resilience. Professional accountants have a key role to play in enabling organisations to measure their progress, not only financially, but also to more broadly in terms of thekey environmental and social impacts that are critical to their success.”

    The transcript of the full letter and signatories can be found here.